Trypanothione Reductase: A Target for the Development of Anti- Trypanosoma cruzi Drugs

Abstract

Background & objective: Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a major parasitic disease in Latin America with restricted available treatment: nifurtimox and benznidazole. These two drugs are ineffective in the chronic phase of the disease; therefore, there is a need for the development of new, efficient and safe drugs for the treatment of this pathology. With this goal, one of the promising targets is trypanothione reductase (TR), a key enzyme in the metabolism of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Conclusion: In this review, we analyse the importance of TR as a drug target, as well as the well-known and new inhibitors reported in the last decade as potential therapeutic agents for Chagas disease.

Keywords: Chagas disease; Trypanosoma cruzi; drugs; inhibitors; target; trypanothione reductase.